Suicides among the "Mentally Well: A systematic analysis of past research

Suicides among the "Mentally Well: A systematic analysis of past research

Author

Milner, Allison Joy; De Leo, Diego; Sveticic, Jerneja

Publication Title

4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association for Suicide Prevention

Editor

Suicide Prevention Australia and the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention

Year Published

2010

Abstract

While psychiatric diagnoses are seen to play a strong role in intentional-self harm, research
indicates that an appreciable number of suicides occur in the absence of any diagnosable
mental illness. Whether this indicates that the subjects are “mentally well” is a subject of
debate, as some researchers suggest that these people may actually be suffering from subthreshold
mental conditions, which do not reach the full range or severity of symptoms
needed for a psychiatric diagnosis. Our presentation will provide a review of the studies which
address the topic of suicide occurring in those persons with either no diagnosed psychiatric
disorder, or “sub threshold” disorders which do not reach the full criteria for a mental illness.
The databases used for the search included: Pub Med, Web of Knowledge, Scopus and
Proquest. Areas of particular interest were: psychiatric diagnoses, age, and gender. We also
investigated the diagnostic classification system used in the study and the region in which it
was conducted. The results of this review show that a substantial number of suicides do not
meet the full diagnostic criteria for a mental illness. It is also worth noting that the study
design, instrument used for diagnosis, and the region in which the study was conducted, had
an influence on the study results. These findings highlight the potential methodological
problems in studies on psychiatric conditions and suicide. Aside from this issue, our review
study suggests that suicides can occur independently of any discernable mental illness

Copyright remains with the authors 2010. The attached file is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. For information about this conference please refer to the conference’s website or contact the author[s].

Conference name

4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association for Suicide Prevention